length

lengthlength /leŋθ/ ●●●S2W2 noun1size [countable, uncountable]LONG the measurement of how long something is from one end to the other → breadth, widthWe measured the length and width of the living room.a length of 1 metre/2 feet etcSome fish can grow to a length of four feet.2 feet/10 metres etc in lengthThe hotel pool is 15 metres in length.You’ll need several pieces of string of different lengths.2time [countable, uncountable]TIME/HOW LONG the amount of time that you spend doing something or that something continues → durationlength ofYour pension will depend on your length of employment.What’s the average length of stay in hospital?(not) for any length of time (=not for very long)He wasn’t left alone for any length of time.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually talk about how long something is in space or time, rather than using the noun length: We need to know the length of the table. → We need to know how long the table is. | He was annoyed by the length of time he had to wait. → He was annoyed by how long he had to wait.3books/films etc [countable, uncountable]LONG the amount of writing in a book, or the amount of time that a film, play etc continueslength ofWe had to cut the length of the book by one third.of this lengthFilms of this length (=as long as this) are pretty unusual.4 →run/stretch/walk etc the (full) length of something5 →shoulder-length/knee-length etc6 →go to some/great/any lengths (to do something)7 →at (some/great etc) length8 →the length and breadth of the area/country/land etc9piece [countable]LONG a piece of something long and thina length of rope/pipe/wire etc10in races [countable]DSH the measurement of a horse, boat etc from one end to the other – used when saying how far the horse, boat etc is ahead of anotherThe horse won by three lengths.11swimming [countable]DSS the distance from one end of a swimmingpool to the otherdo/swim a lengthShe does at least 20 lengths a day. → hold something at arm’s lengthat arm1(8), → keep/hold somebody at arm’s lengthat arm1(9), → full-length1COLLOCATIONSverbsmeasure the length of somethingThe children measured the length of their shadows at three different times of day.have a length of 1 metre/2 feet etcThese leaves have a length of about 7 cm.grow to/reach a length of 2 metres/8 feet etcA blue whale can reach a length of 100 feet.run the length of something (=exist along the whole length of something)A long corridor ran the length of the building.adjectivesthe total lengthThe total length of the completed railway line will be almost 650 kilometres.an average lengthThese worms grow to an average length of about 1 metre.the whole/full/entire length of somethingThe camera looks down the full length of the street.medium lengthAll the girls had short or medium length hair.equal/unequal lengthShe drew two lines of equal length.a maximum/minimum lengthThis species of fish can reach a maximum length of 12 inches.